Many power-driven apparatus have been devised to clean footwear such as boots and shoes. Most of these devices, such as those disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,802,021 (Schulz), 3,940,820 (Smolka), 4,014,060 (Taylor) and 4,118,818 (Holleran), clean only the bottoms of shoes, and do so by the placing of a rotary brush against the shoe sole when a shoe is placed upon the device.
Other devices, such as those disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,445,875 (Bohannon), and 4,024,599 (Gamboa), have used a vacuum means in conjunction with the rotary brushes to collect the dirt and other debris dislodged from the shoes by the brushes. However, the vast majority of the shoe cleaning devices found in the prior art do not incorporate provisions for cleaning the upper portion of a shoe. Finally, most of the devices found in the prior art are complicated mechanical devices and are rather cumbersome to transport.
A footwear cleaning apparatus which would clean both the upper and lower portions of shoes and yet which would be simple mechanically and easily transportable would be of great use in both personal and industrial applications. Such a device would be especially attractive in areas having severe weather, as it would allow a complete cleaning of one's shoes prior to entering a home or office, and thus would prevent the soiling of any carpets therein.
Accordingly, it is the principal object of this invention to efficiently clean the upper and lower portions of footwear such as shoes.
It is an additional object of this invention to completely collect any debris which is dislodged from the footwear during the cleaning process.
It is still another object of this invention to simplify the mechanisms presently used for cleaning shoes.
It is a final object of this invention to enhance the portability of devices utilized to clean footwear.